WEB DESK
Myanmar Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has called on armed ethnic groups involved in an offensive against Myanmar’s ruling military to solve their problems “politically”, Myanmar state media reported on Tuesday.
He warned that if armed organizations keep on being foolish, residents of the relevant regions will suffer bad impacts.
The junta is facing coordinated offensives near the borders with China, India and Thailand and according to analysts it is the biggest threat to its rule since it seized power in 2021.
Clashes have raged across Myanmar’s northern Shan State and spread to other regions after an armed alliance of three ethnic groups launched surprise attacks, known as ‘Operation 1027’, against the military on October 27 this year.
Galvanised by the coordinated offensive by the ethnic armed groups, ‘People’s Defence Forces’ formed after the coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government have launched renewed attacks on the military in the north and east.
The military had withdrawn from some positions and many soldiers had left their posts in the face of attacks by the ethnic alliance, writes Irrawaddy, online news portal.
More than 250 civilians, including children, are feared to have died since the launch of the offensive in October, according to United Nations field reports.
Over 500,000 people have been displaced across the country, the UN said.